Ancient rock wiggles could be earliest trace of moving organismScientists say 2.1bn-year-old fossils may show evidence of self-propelled motionA collection of short wiggly structures discovered in ancient rocks could be the earliest fossilised traces of organisms able to move themselves, scientists say.If scientists are correct, the 2.1bn-year-old structures point to an earlier origin than generally thought for eukaryotes – cells with a membrane-bound nucleus and which make up plants, animals and fungi – previouslybelieved to have first emerged about 1.8bn years ago. It also pushes back the earliest evidence of self-propelled movement of eukaryotes by 1.5bn years – s...Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 11, 2019 Category: Science Authors: Nicola Davis Tags: Fossils Science Biology Evolution Gabon Africa Source Type: news

Gabon: Video of Ailing President Raises More Questions Than Answers[RFI] Gabon's President Ali Bongo has for the first time, since his hospitalisation in Saudi Arabia last month, appeared in two videos filmed in Rabat where he is continuing treatment for an unknown illness. Bongo met with Moroccan King Mohammed VI as well as top government officials. However, his appearance continues to raise questions about the state of his health. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - December 6, 2018 Category: African Health Source Type: news

Africa:Health and Environment - Shaping a Better Future Together in Africa[WHO] Libreville, 5 November 2018 - Aiming to identify emerging environmental threats to people's health and agree on a strategic action plan for the region, African Ministers of health and environment will meet for the Third Interministerial Conference on Health and Environment from 6 to 9 November in Libreville, Gabon. The conference jointly organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Environment will discuss how to turn health and environmental policies into action. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - November 5, 2018 Category: African Health Source Type: news

Prevalence of HTLV-1 infection among teens and adults in Gabon remains high(PLOS) A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, by Mirdad Kazanji, of the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville in Gabon, and the Institut Pasteur de la Guyane in French Guiana, suggests that 30 years after the first epidemiological survey of the seroprevalence of Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infections in Gabon, the country remains highly endemic, with a seroprevalence of 7.3 percent. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - October 25, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Orange cave crocodiles may be mutating into new speciesIn 2008 an archaeologist discovered crocodiles living in remote caves in Gabon. Now, genetics hint that these weird cave crocodilians may be in the process of evolving into a new species.It sounds like something out of a children ’s book: it’s orange, it dwells in a cave and it lives on bats and crickets. But this isn’t some fairy story about a lonely troll – it’s the much weirder tale of a group of African dwarf crocodiles that are adapting to life in pitch-darkness.“We could say that we have a mutating species, because [the cave crocodile] already has a different [genetic] haplotype,&r...Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - January 29, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Jeremy Hance Tags: Environment Gabon Africa World news Biology Evolution Science Animal behaviour Animals Endangered species Conservation Wildlife Source Type: news

West Africa:Militants in Lake Chad Region Block Polio Program[VOA] Scientists warn a campaign to eradicate polio in central Africa is falling short because of upheaval in the Lake Chad Basin area, where the Boko Haram militant group remains active. On the positive side, on country -- Gabon - has been declared polio-free. (Source: AllAfrica News: Polio)Source: AllAfrica News: Polio - December 21, 2017 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

New species of parasitic wasp discovered in the eggs of leaf-rolling weevils in Africa(Pensoft Publishers) A new species of parasitic wasp has been obtained from the eggs of weevils associated with bushwillows in northeastern Gabon. Given the tiny insect is the first record of its genus for West-Central Africa, the researchers Dr. Stefania Laudonia and Dr. Gennaro Viggiani decided to assign the wasp a name to celebrate its origin. The scientists have published their findings in the open-access journal ZooKeys. (Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health)Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - February 27, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news

Poachers Have All But Emptied This 'Sanctuary' Of Forest ElephantsPoachers in just a decade slaughtered roughly 25,000 forest elephants in Africa’s Minkébé National Park ― as much as 81 percent of the population in what has been an important sanctuary for the species, according to a new study.
The park’s population of elephants fell by at least 78 percent from 2004 to 2014, according to Duke University researchers, who calculated the loss by comparing elephant dung surveys. The dramatic decline is a “startling warning that no place is safe from poaching,” the study’s authors wrote.
Minkébé, a remote, 2,900-square-mile pres...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - February 21, 2017 Category: Science Source Type: news

Poaching drives 80 percent decline in elephants in key preserveForest elephant populations in one of Central Africa's largest sanctuaries have declined between 78% and 81% because of poaching, a new study finds. More than 25,000 elephants in Gabon's Mink ébé National Park may have been killed for their ivory between 2004 and 2014. With nearly half of Central Africa's forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of elephants from the park is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - February 20, 2017 Category: Science Source Type: news

Study reveals 'nightmare' for Central Africa's forest elephants(Cell Press) Forest elephants living in an area that had been considered a sanctuary in the Central African country of Gabon are rapidly being picked off by illegal poachers, who are primarily coming from the bordering country of Cameroon. Researchers reporting in Current Biology on February 20 found that the forest elephant population in Gabon has dropped by more than 80 percent in a decade--a loss of about 25,000 elephants. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - February 20, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Poaching drives 80 percent decline in elephants in key preserve(Duke University) Forest elephant populations in one of Central Africa's largest sanctuaries have declined between 78% and 81% because of poaching, a new Duke-led study finds. More than 25,000 elephants in Gabon's Mink é b é National Park may have been killed for their ivory between 2004 and 2014. With nearly half of Central Africa's forest elephants thought to live in Gabon, the loss of elephants from the park is a considerable setback for the preservation of the species. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - February 20, 2017 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Bushmeat hunting drives biodiversity declines in Central Africa(Duke University) Bushmeat hunting has dramatically reduced animal biodiversity in forests near rural villages in the Central African nation of Gabon, a new Duke University-led study finds. By extrapolating their results from Gabon across similar landscapes throughout Central Africa, the researchers conservatively estimate that degraded animal communities are likely now found across 53 percent of the region. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - November 7, 2016 Category: Biology Source Type: news

Traveling To Southeast Asia? Here's What You Need To Know About Zika VirusThe Zika virus epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean has infected potentially millions of people and is pegged as the cause of congenital Zika syndrome, a birth defect affecting thousands of children in the region. It can cause brain damage, seizures, deafness, blindness and other neurological and physiological problems.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel advisories for 59 countries and territories throughout the world, including neighborhoods in Miami where the Zika virus continues to spread locally. Most of these areas are in Latin America and the Caribbean, while eight...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - November 1, 2016 Category: Science Source Type: news

Traveling To Southeast Asia? Here's What You Need To Know About Zika VirusThe Zika virus epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean has infected potentially millions of people and is pegged as the cause of congenital Zika syndrome, a birth defect affecting thousands of children in the region. It can cause brain damage, seizures, deafness, blindness and other neurological and physiological problems.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued travel advisories for 59 countries and territories throughout the world, including neighborhoods in Miami where the Zika virus continues to spread locally. Most of these areas are in Latin America and the Caribbean, while eight...Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - November 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

What 1989 And The Golden Girls Tell Us About Medicine TodayToday, 1989 may be most associated with Taylor Swift: It is the album that won her a second Grammy for Album of the Year. Not only that, it happens to be the year Swift was born--such a long, long time ago!
People under 35 have no personal memory of 1980s pop culture, which is ironic since Swift's album in part pays homage to it. In the real 1989 (no offense to Swift and the 10 co-producers who made the album), all sorts of revolutions took place: Mr. Gorbachev tore down that pesky wall, for example. America's greatest antagonist, the Soviet Union, collapsed in 1989. Brazil conducted its first democrat...Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - September 23, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Watch This ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse Block the Sun Over AfricaA halo of sun shone above parts of Africa on Thursday as the moon glided between the sun and the Earth, causing an annular or “ring of fire” eclipse.
Unlike a total solar eclipse where the moon completely blocks the sun’s light, an annular eclipse occurs when the moon partially blocks the sun, leaving a run of sunlight around the edges.
Thursday’s eclipse could be seen from countries including the Republic of Congo, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique, according to NASA. This video shows the view from the village of Saint-Gilles on Réunion, an island o...Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - September 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Abigail Abrams Tags: Uncategorized Africa Annular Solar Eclipse moon Partial Solar Eclipse Source Type: news

The September night skyWhat to look out for during the month of the equinox, with a solar eclipse over Africa, followed by a lunar eclipseThe month of our autumnal equinox opens with an annular or “ring” solar eclipse on 1 September which is visible along a path that sweeps across Southern Central Africa from Gabon to Madagascar. The surrounding area, where a partial solar eclipse is seen, does not extend as far north as Europe.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - August 28, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Alan Pickup Tags: Astronomy Solar eclipses Lunar eclipses Mars Saturn Mercury Science Space World news Source Type: news

Meet some amazing animals and plants that are new to scienceLife on Earth can be found in the most surprising places, from the deep sea to pitch-black caves to just off the main road of a Gabonese National Park. Each year, about 18,000 species are discovered and described by scientists in thousands of academic publications, where regular folks may never... (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - May 23, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Sean Greene Source Type: news

Meet Pharma’s Biggest InnovatorsWith projects submitted from Scotland to Togo, the 2016 eyeforpharma Barcelona Awards were truly a global occasion.
Although we had wide participation from pharma’s top 20 (18 out of 20 to be exact, we’ll get the full set in 2017), UCB once again stood out from the pack. 2016 marked the second consecutive year in which they have taken home two awards; this time in the ‘Most Valuable Pharma Collaboration’ and ‘Customer Innovator’ categories.
Many entrants had a strong technology component, with patient support and HCP education apps, tech-inspired hackathons, and the first social network ...Source: EyeForPharma - March 23, 2016 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Thomas Disley Source Type: news

What You Need to Know About the Zika VirusThe rapid spread of Zika virus through the Americas, together with the association of infection with microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, have propelled this previously ignored virus into the limelight. What is this virus and where did it come from? History Zika virus was first identified in 1947 in a sentinel monkey that was being used to monitor for the presence of yellow fever virus in the Zika Forest of Uganda. At this time, cell lines were not available for studying viruses, so serum from the febrile monkey was inoculated intracerebrally into mice. All the mice became sick, and the virus isolated from thei...Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - February 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Our Fate Tied to the Ocean's FateWorld leaders and the international community are gathering soon at the United Nations to adopt the Sustainable Development Goals, which will guide the UN and member states for the next 15 years. A critical component of achieving all the goals will be conservation and sustainable use of the world's ocean, seas, and marine resources -- Goal 14. This is good news. A healthy ocean is essential to ending poverty, drives prosperity, and ensures the health of our planet for generations to come. The ocean makes this planet habitable for human life. It generates half the oxygen we breathe and regulates our climate. Our fate is tie...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - September 21, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news

How DNA Could Help Catch Elephant PoachersEvery year criminals around the world trade billions of dollars in products derived from wildlife. The elephant trade in particular has rankled government officials around the world with tens of thousands of the large mammals killed in Africa every year—a conservation threat, given the dwindling numbers of elephants in the wild.
Now, scientists say that they may be able to use DNA from government seizes of illegal ivory tusks to trace elephants’ origins, a potentially groundbreaking method for law enforcement. Large-scale poaching, which accounts for more than 70% of the ivory trade, may be confined to just two...Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - June 18, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Justin Worland Tags: Uncategorized animals Source Type: news

Our Fate Is Tied to Our OceanIt's not an exaggeration to say that we depend upon the ocean for our very existence. It regulates our climate and our weather. It generates half of the oxygen we breathe. It provides food and income for billions of people. Covering almost three-quarters of the planet, the mighty ocean is -- without a doubt -- a natural resource like no other. Our fate is inextricably tied to the ocean's fate and the ocean is in trouble.
Many of the world's fish stocks are depleted and continue to be overfished. Runoff and debris are choking our waters. The very chemistry of the ocean is changing, becoming more acidic because of the carbo...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - June 8, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news

Plant genus named after Sir David AttenboroughKey taxonomical classification of rare plant with fleshy flowers discovered in the rainforest of Gabon in central Africa is named after British naturalist Grasshoppers, shrimps, spiders and other creatures have all been named after Sir David Attenborough, but now a whole genus of endangered plants will bear the naturalist’s name.Identified by a team of researchers in Gabon, a renowned botanical hotspot, the Sirdavidia flowering plants are believed to be the first plant genus – a taxonomical ranking one step above a species – named after the broadcaster. Related: Species named after Sir David Attenborough ...Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 5, 2015 Category: Science Authors: Adam Vaughan Tags: Wildlife Environment Plants Science David Attenborough Television & radio Biology Gabon Africa Endangered species Endangered habitats IUCN red list of endangered species Trees and forests Source Type: news

Scientists Ask If Ebola Could Be Silently Immunizing Some People While Killing OthersBy Kate Kelland and Emma Farge LONDON/DAKAR (Reuters) - A recent sharp drop in new Ebola infections in West Africa is prompting scientists to wonder whether the virus may be silently immunizing some people at the same time as brutally killing their neighbors. So-called "asymptomatic" Ebola cases - in which someone is exposed to the virus, develops antibodies, but doesn't get sick or suffer symptoms - are hotly disputed among scientists, with some saying their existence is little more than a pipe dream. Yet if, as some studies suggest, such cases do occur in epidemics of the deadly disease, th...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - January 27, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news

Shedding new light on diet of extinct animalsA study of tooth enamel in mammals living today in the equatorial forest of Gabon could ultimately shed light on the diet of long extinct animals, according to new research. The researchers found that magnesium isotopes are particularly well suited to deciphering the diet of living mammals and, when used in conjunction with other methods such as carbon isotopes, they could open up new perspectives on the study of fossilized animals. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - December 22, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

Shedding new light on the diet of extinct animalsA study of tooth enamel in mammals living today in the equatorial forest of Gabon could ultimately shed light on the diet of long extinct animals, according to new research from the University of Bristol. (Source: University of Bristol news)Source: University of Bristol news - December 22, 2014 Category: Universities & Medical Training Tags: Research, International; Faculty of Science, Faculty of Science, School of Earth Sciences; Press Release Source Type: news

Shedding new light on the diet of extinct animals(University of Bristol) A study of tooth enamel in mammals living today in the equatorial forest of Gabon could ultimately shed light on the diet of long extinct animals, according to new research from the University of Bristol. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - December 22, 2014 Category: Biology Source Type: news

South Africa Turns To New Breed Of Anti-Poaching Crime FightersRUSTENBURG, South Africa (AP) — Venom and Killer. These are members of a furry breed of anti-poaching operatives, dogs that can detect a whiff of hidden rhino horn in a suspect's vehicle or follow the spoor of armed poachers in South Africa's besieged wildlife parks.
Dogs are a small part of an increasingly desperate struggle to curb poaching in Africa, where tens of thousands of elephants have been slaughtered in recent years to meet a surging appetite for ivory in Asia, primarily China. In South Africa, poachers have killed more than 1,000 rhinos this year, surpassing the 2013 record. Countries and conservat...Source: Science - The Huffington Post - November 29, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

Canadian Ebola vaccine to be tested in Europe, Gabon, KenyaLONDON (Reuters) - Trials of an experimental vaccine developed by the Canadian government and licensed to NewLink Genetics will begin swiftly in healthy volunteers in Europe, Gabon and Kenya, under a program with funding from the Wellcome Trust. (Source: Reuters: Health)Source: Reuters: Health - October 29, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: healthNews Source Type: news

Polio: Mutated virus breaches vaccine protection(University of Bonn) Thanks to effective vaccination, polio is considered nearly eradicated. Each year only a few hundred people are stricken worldwide. However, scientists of the University of Bonn, together with colleagues from Gabon, are reporting alarming findings: a mutated virus that was able to resist the vaccine protection to a considerable extent was found in victims of an outbreak in the Congo in 2010. The pathogen could also potentially have infected many people in Germany. The results appear now in the magazine PNAS. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - August 21, 2014 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

Oldest biodiversity found in Gabonese marine ecosystemResearchers have discovered, in clay sediments from Gabon, fossils of the oldest multicellular organisms ever found. In total, more than 400 fossils dating back 2.1 billion years have been collected, including dozens of new types. The detailed analysis of these finds reveals a broad biodiversity composed of micro and macroscopic organisms of highly varied size and shape that evolved in a marine ecosystem. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - June 26, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news

Nearly One-Third of World’s Population Is OverweightSchools around the world, like this one in Melilla, Uruguay, are trying to introduce healthy eating habits to bring down rates of obesity and overweight. Credit: Victoria Rodríguez/IPSBy Farangis AbdurazokzodaWASHINGTON , May 31 2014 (IPS) Over two billion people – or 30 percent of the world’s population – are either obese or overweight, and no country has successfully reduced obesity rates to date, according to a new study published this week by the British medical journal, The Lancet.
The number of overweight and obese people increased from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 2013, according to...Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - May 31, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Farangis Abdurazokzoda Tags: Development & Aid Featured Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Population Poverty & MDGs Regional Categories TerraViva United Nations World Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Body Mass Index Michelle Obama obesity Overweight The Source Type: news